Our Menorah, Chanukah & Christmas

Evenin' - hope you're having a good one -

It's so cold and I love it so much.  Something about lighting a fire, cozying up with a blanket, wearing a sweatshirt and drinking endless cups of tea to help keep warm that turns me on.

I put this Chanukah Menorah together last year - I don't know if I broke any religious rules, if I did - I've tweaked them just a little bit, and I'd say it's ok.  This went right down the center of my Dining Room Table and I enjoyed it every time I walked by.    

We light the candles every night for 8 nights, we eat potatoe pancakes non stop, they're our appetizers and we serve them with applesauce, strawberries, cranberries, powdered sugar, apricot marmalade, and whatever else we can think of.  Maybe we'll try Nutella and cool whip this year, hmmm.  They are so good and they are gone so fast.  Sometimes the guys help out peeling and rubbing the potatoes and onions on a graph like grater the old fashioned way, or they stand and flip pancakes for a while and we all talk - I love that.  It's a messy job { especially with guys flipping }so I line the entire top of my stove with foil because the pans of splattering oil quickly get out of control, and the cleanup is - well you can imagine.  


This year, I'm doing everything on a tight budget of $0 - we'll be dipping pretzels and dried fruit in chocolate for gifts, decorating canning jars of tea lights, and a few other things.  I will be dropping off dog food at a few local rescues as often as I can - I've been told they give the food away to people who can't afford to feed their dogs - and then they won't have to give their pets up.

My sister-in-law is coming into town this weekend so we're starting Chanukah a little early - here's my Menorah this year - couldn't help but light the whole thing for a preview just a little early.  


Simple Beach House Menorah this year -

We're heading into the city tomorrow - making a special point to cruise Beverly Hills and photograph the decorations - they're always amazing.  Last year I took some photos of the crystal Chandeliers that were hung all along Rodeo Drive - I'm anxious to see what's up this year - I'll post both sets of photos over the weekend.


Tomorrow morning I'm hittin up a few garage sales if I can scrape up a few bucks - and believe it or not, I'm makin a ham for our early Chanukah dinner. hehe


Then it's Christmas with our "created family" -


Have a great weekend - Blogged to join http://theinspiredroom.net/ and funky junk interiors and Kelly's Corner - Christmas Trees { and my Menorah }